The plan for the formation of a new league of near-major caliber will be realized or exploded within the coming two weeks.
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Baseball men of the two big minor leagues have had several meetings of late, and it is admitted that they expect to withdraw from their respective leagues and form a new organization if they can get the moral support of the two big leagues.
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It is whispered [in New York] that the Baltimore people will be perfectly willing to forget ...

Monday, October 30, 2017

The Naval Academy Baseball Classic was slated to be held yearly through 2019, but due to a territorial issue with the Baltimore Orioles, the event will no longer take place, according to multiple sources.

Because the Nationals playing in the Orioles’ domain violates the MLB Constitution, Baltimore could have canceled last spring’s game. The Orioles instead agreed to allow the 2017 game to go on as scheduled, given its nature.

Kapler was named the 54th manager in franchise history on Monday afternoon, after returning to Philadelphia on Friday for a second round of interviews. He impressed, cementing his status at the time as the favorite for the job. Triple-A Lehigh Valley manager Dusty Wathan and former Red Sox manager John Farrell also had second interviews late last week. An introductory news conference will be held later this week, following the conclusion of the World Series.

According to two sources, the Marlins will look to trade outfielder Giancarlo Stanton, who’s due $25 million next season, and also will try to trade second baseman Dee Gordon and third baseman Martin Prado.

In a game at Dodger Stadium last month, San Francisco Giants outfielder Hunter Pence carried some ashes of a deceased Dodgers fan with him in a necklace on the field.

According to a documentary commissioned by UNINTERRUPTED, the Dodgers turned down a request to spread some of the ashes of Henry Janiszewski, who died in 2010, at the ballpark. Filmmaker Matt Liston of the digital series “Mr. Impossible” said he contacted Pence, who agreed to help Janiszewski’s daughter.

Two of MLB.com’s top five prospects, Nationals outfielder Victor Robles (No. 2) and Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna (No. 5), lead a group of 10 top-100 prospects set to battle Saturday, Nov. 4 at 8 p.m. ET at Salt River Fields.

That group also includes top Astros prospect (No. 7 overall) Kyle Tucker, another five-tool outfielder. While Tucker is struggling with a .217/.333/.326 batting line in 54 plate appearances and Robles has played just four games after being on Washington’s roster for the ...

The Washington Nationals have agreed to a deal with Chicago Cubs bench coach Dave Martinez to become their next manager. The team is finalizing a three-year contract with an option for a fourth, according to a person familiar with the situation.

Martinez has served as Joe Maddon’s bench coach in Chicago and Tampa Bay for a decade but will be a first-time manager.

Reports that three or four clubs of the American Association intend to withdraw and merge with certain clubs in the International League caused Thomas J. Hickey, president of the American Association, to issue a call for a conference of the club owners to be held in Milwaukee next Sunday.

“If Indianapolis, Louisville and Toledo club owners have decided to secede it is only proper that we should know about it,” Mr. Hickey said. “I know nothing ...

Pitchers and coaches from both the Dodgers and Astros complained Saturday night about the World Series baseballs—and this time the controversy is not just about liveliness. They say there is a new problem: the baseballs used in the World Series are slicker than the ones used in the regular season because of a difference in the grain of the leather. The slicker World Series balls particularly make it hard to throw a good slider, they claim.

The episode, caught on video and repeated endlessly on television and social media, opened up a new heated conversation about race and identity in professional sports, which has already been grappling with NFL players taking knees during the national anthem.

Many found Gurriel’s antics as juvenile and insulting as they were sadly familiar.

“It just felt like, ‘Man, again?’ Like, we’re so used to this,” Jason Chu, a Chinese American rapper based in Los Angeles. “People don’t ...

In a back-and-forth battle between two heavyweights, the Astros overcame three deficits and countless momentum swings to defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 13-12. The final Minute Maid Park crowd of the season was treated to a game that was all sorts of crazy and ultimately left the American League champions merely one win away from their first championship.

Sunday, October 29, 2017

A person familiar with the situation confirmed a report by ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick that the Braves were denied permission to interview Moore, who signed a Royals contract extension of undisclosed length.

But there is a belief among some observers that the Royals might be positioning themselves for possible concessions from the Braves to allow Moore to interview and/or leave. And it’s possible that Moore might also be waiting for some assurances about the Braves situation and ...

A close play at the plate overturned by replay leads to the deciding run in Game 2 of the Japan Series.

The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks had definitely scored one run on Akira Nakamura’s hit to right to tie the game. The question was, had they actually scored two and taken a one-run lead, or had the Yokohama BayStars recorded the third out of the inning by the slimmest of margins.

After a very, very lengthy review, the verdict came in: Kenta Imamiya was safe at home, and the Hawks had a one-run ...

During a tribute to those afflicted with cancer between innings during Game 4 of the World Series on Saturday, Astros manager A.J. Hinch held a card with former Diamondbacks general manager Kevin Towers’ name on it.

Given the reaction on Twitter, Hinch may have revealed Towers has cancer.

The Washington Nationals have agreed to a deal with former Cubs bench coach Davey Martinez to become their next manager, and are finalizing the details of what will be a three-year deal with an option for a fourth, according to a person familiar with the situation….

Martinez gives the Nationals a different look — a fresher face than Baker or Davey Johnson, but a more relaxed leader than Williams. He is fluent in Spanish, well-versed in advanced analytics and multiple Nationals players have ...

This was as good a chance as you could expect—Bellinger would get his swings against a depleted right-handed starter who might have been left in to face one batter too many. True, Bellinger was hitless in the World Series, but as he would say, “It just takes one swing to get out of it.”

Bellinger knew exactly what pitch was coming, too. When McCullers faces the big moment, he almost always throws his best pitch, the curveball. He finished Game 7 of the American League Championship Series with ...

Gurriel said he was aware that the word Chinito was offensive. “In Cuba we call everybody who is from Asia ‘Chino,’” he said through the interpreter. “We don’t call them Japanese. We call them Chino. Plus, I know in Japan that offends them. They don’t like that, but I didn’t mean to do it.”

Darvish, 31, initially said he was angry when he learned what Gurriel had done, but later issued a statement on his verified Twitter account asking people to forgive Gurriel.

Friday, October 27, 2017

Three whole days since this was published?? Come on, Baseball Think Factory, time to put aside your all-important OTP arguing and start thinking!

The reason that we have positional adjustments in WAR(P) is that we want to give a player credit for playing a difficult position. He might be an average defensive shortstop, but (we assume) if his team needed him to do it, he could be a somewhat above-average second baseman and a crackerjack left fielder. (Hanley Ramirez would like a word with you.) ...

Jeff Conine, who served as a special assistant to former team president David Samson, said he turned down an offer from new ownership to remain with the organization in what would have been a sharply diminished role at lower pay….

Conine is a South Florida baseball icon, an original Marlin and member of both World Series teams.

PLUS: some random gossip about Mattingly’s future with the club, how much a special assistant makes, how many Yankees are going to ...

President Comiskey won’t be caught short again in case his White Sox get into another world’s series. He has announced that the gaps in the stands and bleachers at his Chicago park are to be filled, making a continuous line of stands around the field, except where the score board is located, and increasing the seating capacity to 45,000.

Comiskey Park didn’t actually change much until 1927, when they added a second deck to the grandstand.